A Cop on the Beat (poem) - a cop killed (true)

Hi all,

This post is a sad one. We had a policeman killed in Rapid City recently. Two other officers were wounded. The cop-killer who was stopped in a routine traffic stop was shot and later died at the hospital. He was a known offender and handled by the police many times.

If you would like to see the news article to get a better idea, click below:
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/bba996ea-c076-11e0-9c4b-001cc4c002e0.html
and lots of pictures: http://rapidcityjournal.com/promo/procession-for-officer-j-ryan-mccandless/collection_3452c9c2-c07c-11e0-8e81-001cc4c002e0.html?photo=1





From the write-up and pictures, you can see this officer was a very special man - a good man - a good cop!!

Being an old cop myself, this hit me a little harder than most (other than close friends and family). As many of you know, I deal with things by writing about them. I wrote the following poem in memory of the brave officer who guarded our town.

God Bless him and the people who hurts due to his death....


...........................................................

A Cop on the Beat
By jay Wilson ©2011

A cop on the beat, patrolling the street
Made that stop that policemen all fear
Some fool with gun, with scruples none
Killed the young officer without a tear

This officer was good, did what he could
To make this city safe for you and for me
He put his life on the line, ended up dying
Now he is gone from friends and family

The news hit hard and I turned to the Lord
To seek for the answer I needed
I read the good book, I took a long look
I was assured the officer would be greeted

The Bible did say, a passage for this day
`bout a person laying down his life for a friend
To heaven he soared, to the arms of the Lord
But sadly will be missed by us and his kin

I will pray for his soul, but the truth be told
The officer already stands by the golden gate
I’m sure he is on guard, working for the Lord
And as always, the officer’s duty’s first-rate

The day may come when you are the one
who will ask St Peter if you can go in.
It would be great, if that cop by the Gate
smiles and says, “Welcome, my friend.”